THEY called him ‘Crazy Nate’. He was pretty much a loner. And now disturbing new details are emerging about how he allegedly kept teenager Abigail Hernandez captive in a bunker-like shipping container for nine months.

Police allege Mr Kibby knowingly confined Abby, then 14, on October 9, sometime after she left high school to walk to her home in North Conway.

Since his arrest, a disturbing picture has emerged of a man who likes his guns and who has had a long criminal history.

Cuffed ... Nathaniel Kibby is escorted to his arraignment at Conway District Court on Tuesday. Pic: AP Photo/Charles KrupaSource: AP

Kibby faced court on Tuesday as investigators started dismantling the container where he allegedly held her for nine months — in a structure that may have had three separate, soundproofed rooms, according to The Daily Mail.

The Mail reports FBI officers and State Troopers have been working on the crime scene 24 hours a day since Kibby’s dramatic arrest and on Wednesday, they stepped up their search for evidence and seemed to be using some kind of mechanical saw to cut into the shipping container.

As cops searched Mr Kibby’s home looking for clues in the puzzling case, neighbours said he was known as “creepy” and frequently trespassed.

However, he also had two run-ins with police while Abby was being held captive.

Abby disappeared on October 9, 2013, and Kibby was arrested and charged with marijuana possession on October 22.

Wanted poster ... Abigail Hernandez, then 14, went missing after leaving school in October last year. Picture: FacebookSource: Twitter

He appeared in court on December 3, entered a guilty plea and paid $434 to cover the fine and fees associated with the charge.

Then, on March 3 of this year, he was charged with simple assault and criminal trespass.

Kibby reportedly shoved Tammy Shackford to the ground after getting into a car accident with her husband, Eric Ray.

Kibby’s lawyer was able to negotiate a plea deal, which cost him $1,000 and the agreement not to have any contact with either Ray or Shackford. The case was settled just last week, three days after Hernandez suddenly showed up at her mother’s home in New Hampshire.

Defiant ... Abigail Hernandez, right, sits in court with family and friends and listens to her mother Zenya Hernandez, centre, talk with Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young, right, prior to the arraignment of Nathaniel Kibby. Pic: Charles KrupaSource: AP

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